Wherever You Go: A Novel

by Joan Leegant

“Timely and brave. . . . Leegant is a masterful weaver.”—Miami Herald

Yona Stern has traveled from New York to Israel to make amends with her estranged sister, a stoic ideologue and mother of five who has dedicated herself to the radical West Bank settlement cause. Yona’s personal life resembles nothing of her sister’s, but it isn’t politics that drove the two apart.Now a respected Jerusalem Talmud teacher, Mark Greenglass was once a drug dealer saved by an eleventh-hour turn to Orthodox Judaism. But for reasons he can’t understand, he’s lost his once fervent religious passion. Is he through with God? Is God through with him?Enter Aaron Blinder, a year-abroad dropout with a history of failure whose famous father endlessly—some say obsessively—mines the Holocaust for his best-selling, melodramatic novels. Desperate for approval, Aaron finds a home on the violent fringe of Israeli society, with unforeseen and devastating consequences.In a sweeping, beautifully written story, Joan Leegant, winner of the PEN New England Book Award and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and demanding faith. Emotionally wrenching and unmistakably timely, Wherever You Go shines a light on one of the most disturbing elements in Israeli Jewish extremist groups and their threat to the modern, democratic state. This is a stunningly prescient novel.

Genres: Fiction, Israel, Jewish, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult

265 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 12, 2010

About the author

Joan Leegant's first book of stories, An Hour in Paradise: Stories, won the 2003 PEN/New England Book Award and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and was a Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. She is also the author of a novel, Wherever You Go. Her prize-winning fiction has appeared in over two dozen literary magazines and anthologies. Formerly an attorney, she has taught at Harvard, Oklahoma State, and Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle where she was also the writer-in-residence at Hugo House. For five years she was the visiting writer at Bar-Ilan University in Tel Aviv where she also spoke at Israeli schools on American literature and culture under the auspices of the U.S. Embassy, and taught English to African refugees and asylum seekers. She lives in Newton, Massachusetts, with her family.

Reviews

[Amy Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published Date: July 25, 2011
ISBN: 978-393339895
Pages: 253
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Book Summary: Yona Stern has traveled from New York to Israel to make amends with her estranged sister, a stoic ideologue and mother of five who has dedicated herself to the radical West Bank settlement cause. Yona’s personal life resembles nothing of her sister’s, but it isn’t politics that drove the two apart.

Now a respected Jerusalem Talmud teacher, Mark Greenglass was once a drug dealer saved by an eleventh-hour turn to Orthodox Judaism. But for reasons he can’t understand, he’s lost his once fervent religious passion. Is he through with God? Is God through with him?

Enter Aaron Blinder, a year-abroad dropout with a history of failure whose famous father endlessly—some say obsessively—mines the Holocaust for his best-selling, melodramatic novels. Desperate for approval, Aaron finds a home on the violent fringe of Israeli society, with unforeseen and devastating consequences.

In a sweeping, beautifully written story, Joan Leegant, winner of the PEN New England Book Award and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and demanding faith. Emotionally wrenching and unmistakably timely, Wherever You Go shines a light on one of the most disturbing elements in Israeli society: Jewish extremist groups and their threat to the modern, democratic state. This is a stunningly prescient novel.

My Thoughts: I was raised in a very religious strict Roman Catholic home. Every school I attended was Catholic, even my law school was part of a Catholic university. I knew very little about the Jewish faith until I took an introductory seminar while at my Jesuit College (my grandmother had a few choice words for the Jesuits about that!)! I discovered the Jewish religion is a beautiful religion steeped in tradition with a fascinating and long history. I still don't know a lot about Judaism although I learned a little bit more from my husband who was raised Jewish. I was drawn to Wherever You Go partly because the Jewish religion and life are part of the story and I hoped to learn more about it and Jewish extremism, of which I knew nothing.

The Jewish religion and way of life is a central part of the story in Wherever You Go especially the sections about Aaron Blinder and Mark Greenglass, providing captivating reading. But what I found fascinating, as well as disturbing, were passages about Jewish radicalism and the settlement movement, which often includes violent actions. I knew very little about this movement before reading Wherever You Go but I learned that, like so much else in life, the followers of this movement find their way to it for a myriad of reasons. The passion, commitment and even occasional, blind adherence, to Jewish radicalism is sometimes a response to other painful life-time afflictions as depicted by the characters in Wherever You Go.

Wherever You Go was, for me, as much about Jewish political and religious extremism as it was about three Jewish Americans who are all lost and searching for forgiveness or reconciliation or attention or identity or passion and more. Yona, Mark and Aaron have been experiencing painful inner conflicts for some time and their attempts at coping have caused their lives to grind to a halt. Yona and Aaron travel to Israel to find what they're looking for while Mark Greenglass leaves Israel for New York City only to return later. Not all of these characters are likable or likable all of the time but they are extremely flawed and, if not themselves dysfunctional, they come from dysfunction, making them very real human beings. Their journeys and the people, places and ideas they encounter is a riveting reading experience.

Ms. Leegant's main characters are people whose agony, struggles and the answers they seek many of us can relate to. At various times throughout the book, I was able to identify with the struggle and pain of each character. I was surprised by the sympathy I felt for Aaron towards the end of the book, an arrogant and obnoxious young guy much of the time, but then I saw the extent of the anguish, distress and burden he was living with and had been shielding from others. I wanted to cry for him and wished I could comfort him. These characters impacted me in powerful, unexpected ways. By the end of the book I was rooting for all of them to find the answers and live their lives. Ms. Leegant hasn't written a fairytale. This is a real story and in real life, things very often don't work out as we hope they will.

Wherever You Go is a beautifully written book. Ms. Leegant's writing style is compelling and graceful giving a melodious flow to the passages that draws you in. Israel comes alive in Ms. Leegant's hands and, though I've never been there, I now feel as if I have. Similarly, everything from apartment rooms to statues to a living room ceiling are described in exquisite detail making it possible to picture them in your mind. The beauty of the writing sharply contrasts with the subject matter mitigating the disturbing impact of some of the scenes.


This book has a lot going on with the lives of three characters and the struggles they're coping with and Judaism and the radical settlement movement. Although I think this is a captivating book, I wish it was a little bit longer. I felt that just as I was really getting a solid understanding of political and Jewish extremism the book ended. I also would have liked to read a little bit more of the characters lives and their experience with Jewish religion and life. Despite that, Ms. Leegant has written a wonderful book that I think is worthwhile reading for everyone.

[Robyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wherever You Go is the first novel I've read by Joan Leegant. I'm a fan of Michael Cunningham (The Hours) and Julia Glass (Three Junes), and the cover of Wherever You Go, for some reason, reminded me of their work. After seeing this book advertised in a banner on the Goodreads website, I thought I'd give this novel a go.

I entered a giveaway contest for a copy of this book, and was beyond thrilled when one day I received a package from W.W. Norton, with a beautiful brand-new copy of Wherever You Go inside. So thrilled, in fact, that I put off reading this book for as long as possible, savoring the excitement- I brought it with me on two separate trips, but never cracked the book open.

I don't know why I waited as long as I did.

Having finished this novel this afternoon, I walked away to make myself a cup of Earl Grey and thought it over. Then I settled down to write this review. Wherever You Go describes a whirlwind of souls who constantly battle over their religious beliefs, principles, and how to deal with a rapidly plateauing society on two disparate continents- America and the Middle East.

Even as I write this, I realize how easy it is for Americans to lump the Middle East together as one entity; as if its residents shared one unified belief together. Ms. Leegant illustrates with skill the world we live in right now, with a shattered Israel and fractured Palestine, attempting to make ends meet. As the book progresses, we follow Yona Stern, Mark Greenglass and Aaron Blinder as they transition between their familiar homeland of America (specifically, New York City) and their second homeland of Israel.

I currently live in Brooklyn between two predominantly Jewish neighborhoods, and as a person who has limited knowledge of the teachings of Judaism, it is difficult for me to distinguish between specific beliefs and customs of particular segments of the Jewish population here. Wherever You Go was especially instructive in this regard, allowing me to take a glimpse into this world, and imagining what life would be like if I was born Jewish in Brooklyn, like Greenglass's mother, Felicia; or if I had strong ties to the Holocaust, a source of material for Aaron's famous writer father.

It seems, after all, that the members of the Jewish community who shuttle between New York and Jerusalem in this novel continue to be pursued by their own history, their own sense of family, and their interpretation of right or wrong, however skewed that is. Wherever You Go is a study in making decisions, leaving certain ones up to fate, as well as proof of ignorance masquerading as hatred.

We learn about making decisions through Yona's mistakes; we learn about seizing the day through Mark following his gut, and we learn about dumb, sheer ignorance through Aaron's miscalculations. Yona is likable, as is Mark; Aaron's character, however, is neither a friend nor an enemy. Dena, even though her story is told mostly through flashbacks from Yona's perspective, is also a character we want to call a friend. However, Aaron's character is significantly less developed than the others, begging the question: why does he do what he does? Ms. Leegant does not focus enough on the why, or particular details of the how. I could say that Aaron's character was purposefully left underdeveloped, but as a reader invested in the story unfolding before my eyes, I came to believe that the lack of development, of connection, was an oversight on Ms. Leegant's part. We don't need to see every step of Aaron's path, but we need to understand better his emotional state of mind. It would have made for far more emotional impact if we could connect to Aaron, open a stream of mutual understanding between ourselves and Aaron, and then have Ms. Leegant swoop down to sever the relationship between reader and character, leaving us wanting as we understand less and less of Aaron.

As citizens of a post-American world, we have this desperate need to understand, to connect, with those who commit acts of terrorism. There is an unwritten rule, it appears: we never receive closure. We rarely, if ever, are given the chance to understand where the cogs and wheels that work together to set off a destructive action (as if it were a harmless cuckoo clock) come from. Wherever You Go had that chance. It could have deconstructed an act of terrorism. It could have exploded the cherub in the courtyard beyond infinitesimal detail, spoken more to the beauty of the fertility statues Yona discovers, peeked behind the curtain of Dena's stoicism. It had the potential to be beyond poetic, and step into the territory of the cinematic, the land of the fantastical.

Instead, it leaves us merely wondering, but it is not quite enough to propel us to learn more, to explore more, to stalk outside of the cocoons we live in and ask the hard questions: if not now, when? What of the divine right of Israel, or that of Palestine? And the most pressing of all: if terrorism is not the answer, then what is?

[Ezekiel Benzion · Rating 2 out of 5]

It seems recently I have fallen into a pattern of books with too many characters. And through each book, I find one character of interest and alas! too little time is spent on that character because the author is compelled to cover a huge canvas with dots of color.

Here we see the separate stories of several people who merge at the time and place of a "terrorist" act in Jerusalem. And they are all stereotypes: we have the lost teenager angry at his father and his step-mother for not understanding him; the newly-religious man angry at his capitalist father for not understanding him; and a right-wing settler sister angry at her sibling for sleeping with an old boyfriend. Boy, I would never send a child of mine to a Jewish day school in the USA if these graduates are samples of the mal-adjusted adults who emerge.

The one character who was drawn with a realistic internal life was Greenglass. His complex motiivations and his gradual emergence from religious zealotism to a nuanced yet still religious life was complex, and yet resonant with real human struggles to define a meaningful life. The high points of the book were in Greenglass' thoughts: his soul-stirring love of Jerusalem and his belief in hope and love as the essence of his religious creed were the most beautiful passages in the book.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Wherever You Go, the stories of three Americans in Israel are interwoven. Leegant spends enough time with each character for the reader to get a sense of who each is and how s/he has come to be the way s/he is. The writing is lovely; Leegant writes easily yet with a sense of tension and movement behind her lines. The dialogue, too, comes across as very realistic, the sort of conversations you can imagine actual people having. I was hoping to learn a bit about the situation in Israel through the book, which I did, though readers looking for a deep analysis or explanation will most likely not be satisfied. I can’t put my finger on precisely why, but as I reached the end of the novel, I realized it hadn’t had the emotional impact I’d been anticipating. Overall, though I enjoyed Wherever You Go. My full review is posed on my blog, Erin Reads.

[Rosanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joan Leegant is a brilliant writer. She so beautifully interweaves the lives of three different characters in a way that pulls at your brain and your heartstrings. It is a page turner! A book that will remain in your memory for a very long time.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting redemption/coming of age hard story that enfolds in the stories of three characthers: Yona Stern, who has come to Israel to make amends with her radicalized settler sister, Dena and to come to terms with both her past mistakes and her future path. David Greenglass, who converted to Orthodoxy in order to save his own life from his drug dealing past, is now facing a crisis of faith and returns to a teach position in Jerusalem after attempting to make amends with his unOrthodox parents and his hopelessly drug addicted ex-girlfriend. Aaron Blinder is trying to outrun his father's shadow, a famous writer who uses the Holocaust to fuel his writing career, by joining up with a domestic terrorist cell. All three are swept up into a devastating terrorist event in strikingly different results.

I really enjoyed the three different viewpoints which mirror the tumultuous political and social situation in the Israeli state.

[Debbie Shoulders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three different people are at a point in their lives where change is needed. Yona, estranged from her sister, adrift allowing one man after another to take care of her, returns to Jerusalem to made amends. Mark, the son of wealthy parents, leaves all that to pursue an orthodox life, but despite his success in teaching, seems to be losing his faith. Finally, Aaron, raised by his father, a well-known writer of Holocaust novels, rejects his family and tries to fit in with a group of radical Israeli anarchists. The three lives intersect when a bomb detonates at a women's college and forces each of the characters to reflect and resolve their viewpoints.

Leegan excels at characterization, and authentically presents reasonable outcomes for their decision making.

[erl · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a shame. Leegant is clearly a skilled writer, hence the star. But just as clearly, she knows very little about Jewish theology. And crystal clearly, she hates frum people. So many holes in this poorly researched story. All the observant Jews are terrible people, with the exception of one character who is in the process of abandoning religion. She condemns one of her characters for writing novels that foment hatred. Yet here she is, inventing a world where Jews regularly attack hordes of Arabs in Israel. What planet is she on? And what good does she hope to achieve by nursing such discord? A shame her talent isn’t put to better use.

[Zhelana · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have absolutely no idea what this book is about and I'm halfway through. I'm apparently supposed to care about someone who slept with her sister's husband, and a bunch of other people I haven't been given reason to care about. There are entirely too many different people that I think I'm supposed to pay attention to. And I still haven't figured out what decade this is taking place in. Actually, I'm not entirely sure what century it is taking place in (though it's either late 20th or early 21st). There's just a bunch of little people with little concerns, and nothing is happening. I'm halfway in and there's still no inciting incident, so I'm just giving up.

[Hermien · Rating 3 out of 5]

I often couldn't decide whether I was irritated by these privileged people or intrigued by how the story was developing. Maybe my expectations were too high as I had been looking for this book for a long time.

[Kimberley Berlin, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding!

This book is all the more poignant post October 7th. At a time when the world is in so much need of hope, this beautifully written novel brings just that through the interwoven stories, the broken souls and redemption. This is a must read!

[Rita Kingsbury · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book detailing the lives of three people, all going through a personal transition period and go to Israel in order to sort out their lives and their personal connections to Judaism.Interesting and thought provoking.

[Ruby Schuberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three separate lives convene from widely separate paths becoming caught up in Israeli extremist society.

[Sarena Neyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Couldnt make it thru more than half. Interesting subject matter and characters but doesn't move forward enough.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit hard to follow the multiple plot lines and multiple characters, some of whom were more engaging than others. Overall, I enjoyed the book.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm struck by this offhand comment that an author in the AWP conference's 21st century Jewish literature panel said last month- she claimed that Heeb fiction writers haven't been able to write about Israel from a modern, American Jewish perspective. Clearly, she wasn't taking this book into account!

"Wherever You Go" tracks three very different American Jews who visit or live in Israel. My favorite is Yona- she's trying to ask forgiveness from her ten-years estranged sister who lives on an extremist settlement in Judea and Samaria (or the West Bank.) My second favorite is Mark Greenglass (who is referred to by his surname in his chapters, interestingly enough)- on the surface just another rebellious, go-nowhere teen turned ba'al teshuva (embracing Orthodoxy) but with a secular past he's still largely connected to. The third, Aaron, who- surprise surprise, is my least fave- is a young, frustrated, angry college kid from New York looking for meaning in his life. Why not turn to Jewish militant groups? Oy.

One thing I appreciate about these characters is how natural their connections to Israel were. Yona and Aaron grew up in very culturally-affiliated homes, where their parents openly supported Israel as part of their personal identities, and followed closely the Jewish State's culture, politics and religion. Greenglass didn't have that, but his "return" to Orthodoxy was so earnest that it's no wonder he found a home in Jerusalem. It's different than for someone like me- although I do identify with a lot of Israel's narrative as a Jew, personally I can only enter as an outsider.

The book is divided into three parts, and the largest is the first, dealing with the back-stories of these characters before their lives converge. I'm straddling the line between thinking it was a bit of overkill, yet it also taught us so much about the characters that I really felt for them in the end.

The characters are intricately drawn and the narrative is quite stunning. Depending on what's going on, Leegant, who always writes from third person, presents things in a linear style, with flashbacks, or sometimes as rambly emotional perceptions of reality, especially in Aaron's final chapters. That really drove home the point for me- without hitting me over the head with it- that he felt guilty about his actions. Similarly, I enjoyed Yona and her sister, Dena's, final scene, where through the guise of Greenglass's fate, Leegant confronted the issues of faith and righteousness and morality. There were a few times in part one where she hit us over the head with the "sisters estranged!" metaphor, but they passed during the second and third parts.

A couple of things that made me scratch my head a little- I found it a little unbelievable that Greenglass would be wandering alone at the school in the middle of the night, especially when, just paragraphs earlier, he and Rachel were going out. I'm also confused about why the Israeli police didn't arrest or at least proactively come to question Yona about her sister's involvement in the big plot, rather than waiting for her to come to them. I'm shocked that part of Aaron's Get Out Of Jail (mostly) Free card required his father to stop publishing Holocaust books- isn't that a violation of our American rights to free speech? It's not like the elder Blinder did anything criminal. Maybe the government keeps more tabs on us than we thought *shifty eyes* Still- the main feeling I was left with at the end of Aaron's part, other than just extreme remorse, is- if every country and parent had this sort of reaction to their child committing terror, then there would be no more terrorism in the world.

All in all, a fresh, thought-provoking story about American Jews, Israel, and fascinating characters. After reading this novel and Leegant's short stories, I'll have to keep following her career with interest.

[Kathleen (Kat) Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yona Stern has traveled from New York to Israel to make amends with her estranged sister, a stoic ideologue and mother of five who has dedicated herself to the radical West Bank settler cause. Yona’s personal life resembles nothing of her sister’s, but it isn’t politics that drove the two apart.

Now a respected Jerusalem Talmud teacher, Mark Greenglass was once a drug dealer saved by an eleventh-hour turn to Orthodox Judaism. But for reasons he can’t understand, he’s lost his once fervent religious passion. Is he through with God? Is God through with him?

Enter Aaron Blinder, a year-abroad drop-out with a history of failure whose famous father endlessly—some say obsessively—mines the Holocaust for his best-selling, melodramatic novels. Desperate for approval, Aaron finds a home on the violent fringe of Israeli society, with unforeseen and devastating consequences.

In a sweeping, beautifully written story, Joan Leegant weaves together three lives caught in the grip of a volatile and demanding faith. Emotionally wrenching and unmistakably timely, Wherever You Go shines a light on one of the most disturbing elements in Israeli society: Jewish extremist groups and their threat to the modern, democratic state. This is a stunningly prescient novel.

My Review:

The story was well written to include the lives of the three characters in the book, Yona Stern, Mark Greenglass and Aaron Blinder. They are united in a unique way, their love for Israel and the importance of being a Jew.

For Yona Stern, she struggles with rebuilding the relationship with her sister Dena for the last 12 years while rebuilding the issue of trust that has dissolved between them. Yona cheated on her sister with her boyfriend at the time, who confessed he didn't really love Dena for the last year and instead has fallen for her. Riddled with guilt, he ultimately confesses to Dena and ends the relationship thinking that they will now fall in love. The only problem is that Yona doesn't love him and never did.

Now she finds herself trying to finally reconcile the gap that has come between them in her section of the book and it seems that Dena only wishes to punish her sister through her actions while she allows her to visit by barely speaking to her, and for the most part staying so busy they don't have time to be alone.

Mark Greenglass has spent his year attempting to find out who he really is, under the watchful eyes of his father, who has more money then he will ever be able to spend in his lifetime. He doesn't believe that Mark will ever amount to anything and he spends time in and out of different college classes trying to find his faith again as a Jewish man.

Aaron Builder is a unique individual who is trying to make sure that the Jewish people are not forced out of Israel by their Arab neighbors. He will join whatever cause is necessary to make sure that the rising hostilities against Israel will not eliminate the country he has come to love.

I received this book compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review. This is probably one of the first books that I've had the opportunity to read that involves three different stories all in one but doesn't lose the reader along the way. There within the pages of this novel we find out just how far these individuals are willing to go to in the name of their cause? How far will Yona go to reconcile the relationship with her sister, Dena? How far will Mark go to hold on to his faith and still make his father proud? How far will Aaron go to ensure the safety of the land he loves? I would rate this a 4 out of 5 stars!

[Laura]

"Aaron knelt beneath a shaky tree and slid his two gym bags off his shoulders, then looked back. He could hear them murmuring in the dark, Ben Ami's nasal whispers, Davidson's reluctant grunts. He wished they'd hurry up, wished they'd stop arguing so he could forget about their big teary drama and concentrate on what he was meant to do and let God or Shroeder or whoever else be the judge."

I have been tossing around how I was going to review this book for the past week or so. I finally settled on beginning with the quote on page 162, which is where the book really came to life for me. The novel is the story of three Americans, tied to Israel, all in different ways. Yona is a New Yorker whose estranged sister is living in a Zionist commune. She goes back to Israel, where she and her sister had their falling out as college students, to try to make amends. Aaron is a young man, trying to escape the influence of his Holocaust novelist father, and to make his own identity in Jerusalem, away from what he sees as his rather pathetic life in the US. Greenglass is a once faithful man, who seems to be slipping, holding on to his tenuous relationships with his family, his past and his religion. He receives an invitation to teach in Israel, where he hopes to leave behind his entanglements and reinvigorate his faith. All of these characters end up meeting, in the second section of the book, and becoming entwined in something bigger than their individual longings that lead them to Jerusalem.

For me, the most compelling of the narratives in Part I of the novel belonged to Greenglass. Each of the characters come to Israel looking for something more, atonement, maybe? Validation? Leegant's book is timely in that it addresses the appeal of radicalism. A character like the young American Aaron is not the typical picture of a "radical," but is perhaps a picture we should consider. I also thought that her prose was sparse, but effective. Even in the short, rather arbitrary passage I've selected above, the economy of words and their effect is clear. That is what I enjoyed about the book.

I also found the last two sections of the book to be emotionally satisfying. I became more attached to the characters that felt distant early in the book and the plot really picked up. I was really ready for the action in the final parts after the build up early in the book. That isn't to say that there wasn't a purpose for the build-up, because I certainly did understand the characters and I wanted to see them all come together.

What didn't work for me was the pacing of the book. The parts that I liked, and wanted to keep reading, were too short, and the buildup to them was too long. Like I said above, the book really began for me just before Part 2, more than halfway through the book. I have read a few books lately where I found shifting perspective to be distracting, and I think I initially felt nervous about that style in this book. However, I soon grew accustomed to the characters, and knew immediately the focus of each chapter.

Overall: I would recommend this book for anyone interested in examinations of faith, or for anyone interested in Israel. In the end, I was glad I read it because I got to meet and know some of the characters; in particular, Greenglass and Yona. I found the stories about family touching in the final pages.

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

[Jael · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to see where the characters were going with this book. But eventually I got it. The lives of three Israeli Americans with seemingly no connection in Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant have more in common than they know. In some way all three are questioning what they know.

Yona Stern has returned to Jerusalem from New York, in hopes of reuniting with her estranged sister Dena. Yona betrayed her sister in the worst way, sleeping with the love of her life. Dena had her life all mapped out. Finish college and raise children. Dena is the more practical of the two, while Yona questions everything. Yona expresses her emotion, while Dena seemed to be cold. Yona wanted more than a life of domesticity in Jerusalem. The betrayal leads to a 10-year estrangement. Yona punishes herself in the only way she can, by having affairs with married men. She doesn't have to form an emotional attachment to these men because the relationship is only temporary. Is this kind of life fulfilling? What about her future? Everything she has been running from leads back to Jerusalem. Can a relationship with Dena be salvaged? Will Yona finally find what she is looking for?

Dena isn't the same person. She has five children with another on the way. Even when Yona is allowed in Dena's home, she is still ignored. What is the point of this? Why try to forge a relationship with someone who doesn't want it? Dena also had this air of superiority. She is better than Yona because she has a family and is dedicated to creating a Jewish homeland.

Mark Greenglass is on the right track. After dabbling in drugs and a destructive relationship, Mark has become a successful teacher. He has all of this thanks to his faith. But despite all the good he is doing, Mark doesn't feel he measures up in his father's eyes. His mother, who I found to be slightly eccentric, is always there for him. But it is always hard for Mark to get his father's attention. Mark is constantly questioning his faith.

Aaron Blinder is a college dropout. Some people are more interested in his famous father, a writer known for his books on the Jewish experience. Aaron has no plan. He seemed like a follower rather than a leader. He joins a radical sect. What exactly was the goal of this sect? It took me a little while to figure it out. Eventually it became clear. Pick impressionable youth and fill their heads with propaganda. Aaron forms a plan on his own, separate from the group. He thinks he is become a leader. He thinks he is showing initiative, but is in fact part of a master plan. He is a pawn in a larger game. But Aaron is too self-absorbed to realize that.

The three characters come together in a violent way. One moment changes the life of all of them. The last 70-80 pages were thoroughly engrossing. You get a deep sense of the way of life of another culture. I also can't imagine living this way. Aaron feels it's OK to hate an entire race without provocation. An existence bent on finding your enemies is no way to live. Definitely put this one on your reading list.

Rating: Superb

Note: I received a copy of the book from the publisher (W.W. Norton & Company) at the author's request in exchange for an honest review.

[Zoë Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wherever You Go by Joan Leegant weaves together three individuals whose lives become entangled in the volatile climate of Israeli society. Yona travels to Israel to try to mend things with her sister, estranged for over ten years, a woman whose life has become the polar opposite of her own. Meanwhile Mark travels back to New York City, the place where he was saved from drugs by his faith, from Jerusalem, to give lectures on the Talmud, trying to ignore the sensation that what he is speaking about isn't what he believes anymore. Finally, Aaron is a college dropout who has a famous writer for a father but can't seem to find a place he belongs so he quits school during his year-abroad and joins an extreme Israeli fringe group. Yona, Mark and Aaron are tied together by the impact faith and Judaism will have on their lives, changing them forever in a moment that can never be undone.

Wherever You Go is the debut novel from Leegant, but it is filled with a wisdom and maturity that is far from amateur. It's an intelligent book, and despite it's slender size- under 300 pages- it is certainly not a light read. The reader is instantly sucked into a rich and vibrant world, beautiful yet violent, three lives teetering on the edge of breaking. Wherever You Go is incredibly powerful, beautiful, well written, and absolutely horrifying at the same time. Two weeks after finishing it I'm still unable to get it out of my mind. The stories it tells are both unique- I've never read anything like it before- and extremely relevant. Leegant has her finger on the pulse of Israeli society and takes the reader into this foreign yet fascinating environment with skill of an insider, unsurprising considering she spends part of her time living in Israel while teaching there.

All the reasons that Wherever You Go is upsetting are the same reasons it is such an important book. Normally when I read a book which follows the narrative of multiple characters I find myself more enchanted by one storyline and impatient for my "favourite" character to return to centre stage. In this case, all three stories are not only absolutely riveting, but definitely distinct from each other as well, three separate voices that at no point become muffled together. I only wished that a little more time had been spent with the characters near the ending; possibly it is my own desire for closure but the conclusion felt slightly rushed. Perhaps being Jewish myself biased me when deciding to pick up Wherever You Go, but regardless of the reader's faith- if any- the novel offers complex characters as well as a thought-provoking narrative and compelling setting.

My biggest complaint? That Leegant's work isn't more widely available, I had to special order her first book An Hour in Paradise, which is a collection of short stories, from the States. Fortunately, I know it'll be worth the wait. I'll also be certain to pre-order whatever Leegant publishes next and if there's a smile on my face when it arrives it's not because I expect the story to be completely bright and cheerful but because I know that whatever she writes it'll be incredibly beautiful and powerful, just like Wherever You Go is.

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

"He turned back to the terrible bed. It looked like the bed of a prisoner, the brutal metal frame, the cheap narrow mattress. He straightened the sheets, smoothed the thin blanket, tried to fluff up the sorrowful pillow, making it up as best he could so that if she ever came back, she would know that someone had been there who had loved her and cared for her and hoped that she would be all right."
p. 154
This is the type of writing where I can really lose myself in the story and never want to come up for air. I was truly amazed at how much this story impacted me because it's a quiet story with two out of the three main characters who are quiet people. The author took me into Israel...an Israel that I have never really seen ,nor ever experienced quite like this. I feel that this is a timely book in regards to the current hostilities that Israel has been facing and though it doesn't go into detail regarding the problems with the Palestinians, it does give you a few glimpses into the lives of the Jewish people that live there. Some are strictly religious and follow the Talmud without question, while others are just happy to try to co-exist with their Arab neighbors. I liked the way the author had the characters lives intersect and what happened after that one fateful event!

After reading this paragraph I had to stop and really mull it over for a while...

The muezzin was finishing his chant. First to the east, then to the west, then north and south. It seemed to Yona to be a live human voice, though she'd heard they were often recordings now. In some cities, the honor used to go to a man who was blind so that when he ascended the minaret to sing out his cries, he wouldn't be able to see into the courtyard of his fellow citizens and violate their privacy.
But listening now--Allah u Akbar! Allah u Akbar! God is great! God is great!--Yona wondered if perhaps only a blind man could bear to do it. If maybe all calls to the faithful, of all religions, were made by those who were blind. The trumpet charge to the Crusades, the whipped-up cries for jihad, the pumped-up settler rallies in Zion Square refusing to withdraw, to Never forgive! Never forget! Because that way they would never have to see what it was they were calling for.
[p.185-186]

Recommend? Yes, without hesitation. This is a book that will draw you in slowly and has a certain rhythm to it...hard to explain exactly, but I was captivated by each character's story and how their choices and decisions would impact their happiness and the direction of their life.

[Jenn Ravey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joan Leegant's novel Wherever You Go is both exactly what you'd expect and nothing you'd expect from a novel set in Israel. Personally, I expected judgment and religious discourse. Instead, I found a very thoughtful novel, which I thought aptly expressed the ambiguity toward Israel many Americans feel.

Partially, Leegant is able to do this because of her characters: three Americans with arms and legs and whole bodies reaching, willingly or unwillingly, to that Holy Land, Jerusalem. Yona - to see her estranged sister, now a mother of five married to a radical and living in the West Bank. Mark - whose return to New York causes him to question his devotion and career, teaching the Talmud. Aaron - to find a place to fit, away from his famous father's gaze and disapproval.

The three are connected only by one instant in the novel, toward the very end, and I very much appreciated the more natural flow. I dislike it when authors attempt to neatly pull together three characters without much cause, in an attempt to change them in some way. In Wherever You Go, however, the change has been occurring, and the reader witnesses the transformation through flashbacks and narration: Yona's acceptance of herself and her sister; Mark's realization that a devoted life doesn't have to be a purely sacrificial life; Aaron's attempt to overcome apathy.

Since it is such a character-driven novel, it did take me a bit to get into, but I should also tell you how much I fell in love with Mark Greenglass. I could honestly have followed him alone throughout the entire novel. I loved that Leegant juxtaposed his addiction to drugs with his addiction to the Talmud and how oblivious he is to it until he must face the one person capable of recalling him to his former self. He stays, awkwardly, in his parent's luxurious Manhattan home while there on a teaching job, and his vain, proud mother slowly tries to make up for his father's coldness. And the moment when he realizes he has been punishing himself because of his former life only reinforced the beauty of his character.

In Wherever You Go, Leegant is critical of extremism, whether through Yona's multiple affairs with married men, Mark's denial of human affection, or Aaron's misguided political beliefs. For as much as this is a book about Judaism, it's much more a book about fanaticism and the guises we use to cover up brutality and cruelty.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel I need to begin this review by mentioning the fact that Wherever You Go is not a light read. Not in the least. I was mistakenly under the impression that this relatively short read would be something light and introspective. While the book definitely raises some amazing discussion points and questions, it is by no means an easy read. It took me a lot longer to read this than anything else I've read this month. Mainly because I'd find something I wanted to mull over and have to stop reading. That being said, I also need to state that my review is entirely based on my current state of mind. This book was something that I enjoyed reading, but I didn't fall completely in love with it. Mainly because my mindset right now is just not ready to deal with such deep reading.

Yona, Mark and Aaron are all at a point in their lives where they are looking for something more. After floating, trying to figure out where they belong, they end up back at their roots looking for answers. These three lives are different, but similar enough to tie together beautifully. The questions of faith and commitment are deeply ingrained in this book, along with both personal and external reflections. Although this book revolves around Jewish faith, there is a lot here that expands beyond that other religions. It is definitely a reflective read that will cause you to mull over the bigger picture.

What really hampered my enjoyment of this book though was the pivotal event that ties all of these people together. I won't spoil it, but it really felt rather convenient and forced to me. After that I felt like the characters were just rushed into the ending. All the growing, learning and introspection that they had accomplished just seemed to fade, as the ending loomed. It's not that I didn't understand why the book had this turn, I did. I just felt like the first half of the book was so much more fascinating and deep than the second half.

Unlike anything else I've read lately, this story was laden with insights about Israeli and American culture, as well as humanity as a whole. These characters are deep and well portrayed, but their lives seemed to never come to a nice closure for me. Overall I enjoyed Wherever You Go enough to finish it and keep thinking about it even after. I quite honestly would have loved it even more if the climax hadn't been so rushed.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always had a fascination with Israel and the whole history and idea that Jews should have their own country. Trying to understand the seemingly endless conflict in Israel by reading the news never fails to leave me hopelessly confused. I've gotten much better results reading novels.

Wherever You Go is set in contemporary Israel, mainly in Jerusalem. Joan Leegant has tackled two gigantic though related aspects of the conflict in her short and rather light novel. One is the relationship of American Jews to Israel and the other is the debate about Jewish terrorism versus political attempts to structure some form of peace between Israelis and Arabs.

Employing the device of three American characters who are in Jerusalem to work out personal issues is a thin disguise for Leegant's views which are clearly anti-extremist. The characters themselves are well drawn however.

Yona is an unfulfilled promiscuous young woman who seeks reconciliation with her estranged sister, a radical proponent of the Jewish state. In fact, the sister, raising her five children under extreme duress in a small Israeli town, is the most intriguing character in the novel.

Mark Greenglass, former drug addict in New York, son of a domineering businessman, turned to Orthodox Judaism but has doubts and conflicts about his teaching life in Jerusalem. Then there is Aaron, a failure at the age of 20, who comes to Israel for specious reasons and ends up in a terrorist cell.

It sounds overly dramatic and somewhat cliched but Leegant is skilled enough as a writer to draw the reader into these lives and tell a good story. She paints a clear picture of life in Jerusalem today.

So it was an interesting read; better than Leon Uris' Exodus as literature goes, not as exciting as Herman Wouk's The Hope in its dramatic arc. What I appreciated most was her attempt to put individual human faces on the conflicts. Leegant's novel is one of the few I have read to avoid the pitfall of ideology. In fact, in her own way, she exposes ideology as the potentially destructive role that it plays in human interaction whether on a personal or political level.

[Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wherever You Go describes the independent journeys of three Jewish Americans each weaving their separate lives towards one final dramatic divergent conclusion. Haunted by questions they can wait no longer for the answers to, they willingly or unwillingly travel to Israel, to find introspection, escape, and redemption.

Capricous and self-indulgent Yona seeks reconciliation with her sister, a single-minded activist living on the West Bank. Once a pacifist revolutionary, she’s become hardened by the past, unwilling to forgive and forget. Her judgements on religion and her own flesh and blood are resolutely entrenched.

Mark Greenglass is a conflicted teacher of Talmud. Saved from drug addiction by Orthadox Judaism, he now finds himself adrift from God with a crisis of faith he can’t understand.

Aaron Blinder, a gap year student, is resentful of his father’s unwelcome schooling in Judaism and as divided as the critics on his endless books lamenting the Holocaust. Aggressive and disparaging of peaceful solutions, religion plays second fiddle to his naive belligerence. He finds purpose and allegiance in his convictions at a lawless cooperative on the fringe of Jerusalem, and finds himself influenced and inspired by ruthless outlaws.

This book deals with three facets to religious extremism, set against the romanticised backdrop of dusty Israel. In one story, extremism divides a family, in another it saves a life, and in the last it seeks to kill. Yet none of the players are governed wholly by religion; there are far more human faults at work, with the tortured and conflicted emotions of the characters giving a very human portrait to what might otherwise accidentally become a clichéd portrayal of the internal struggles of the modern Jewish American and the terrorism that continues to weather their homeland.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://iwriteinbooks.wordpress.com/20...

Some places are a melting pot but the eternally combustible sands of the middle east could better be described as a pressure cooker. Under the desert sun in Israel, three lives bake and squirm amidst a stronger power in Joan Leegant’s Wherever You Go. Yona Stern has come halfway around the world in one last-ditch effort to save an all but lost relationship with her sister. Mark Greenglass has jumped out of the hot pot, only to land in the equally spiritual and tempestuous New York City as a visiting scholar. Aaron Blinder has never really found his way, in life, until, now, camping out along the more militant and extremist edges of the Israeli fight.

The three strands of life serve to paint a picture of life in the birthplace of Abrahamic faith and also in its far-flung little sister, New York. intensely emotional and deeply searching, the book, is one that I think many people would enjoy, Jewish or not. The questions of faith and commitment, of personal and inward reflections, are not necessarily tied specific to Judaism, though they are a very open and blunt look at the way the world embraces or rejects the faith in certain ways, today. I found the book to be reflective of many of the questions I’ve mulled over in my adult life, both spiritual and secular, dealing with everything from completely internal emotions to the macroscopic views of a society at large that is ready to explode.

I found the three voices very easy to distinguish and fun to follow. The stories are different enough that they didn’t need to be any more separated than they were. This is not a light read, even though it’s a little book. I recommend it for those looking to get into something a little bit deeper as the weather turns to a more scholastic autumn.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three disconnected stories of Jewish Americans in Israel culminate with a tragic event. Each of the three main characters has family issues that, in one way or another, convince them to travel to Israel. Mark Greenglass, a former addict who turned his life around and because a Talmud teacher, Aaron Blinder, an academic failure and the son of a successful author and finally, Yona, a New Yorker who loses herself in meaningless relationships and denies her true passion: art.

Mark's family has a hard time accepting his new beliefs. Aaron has a hard time accepting his father's work and fame. Yona hurt her sister deeply ten years earlier and is now trying to reconcile with her. The three individuals are incredibly different and remain separate for the majority of the book. At times I felt like I didn't get to know them as well as I would have liked because it does bounce between the stories so quickly.

Leegant focuses on the role religion plays in a person's life. Should it justify any behavior? Should it come between personal relationships? What are the driving motivations behind our actions that we often attribute to faith? All of which are fascinating questions, though I don't think the books' goal is to answer any of them.

At times, the story reminded me of Nicole Krauss' Great House or Everything Beautiful Began After. Both books feature multiple characters who are, at first, unconnected and are brought together by a major event. The difference, for me, was the writing. Both of those books rely heavily on beautiful prose and that's what made me connect to them in the end.

So, overall, an interesting read and one that's perfect for anyone who's particularly interested in Israel or looking at the role religion plays in your life. I wish I could have connected more with the main characters, but I'm still glad I read it.

[Hannah M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent a good part of my day procrastinating on my review of this book for one reason, I simply don’t have the words to explain how much I loved it, but I’m going to do my best.

When I first read the description of Wherever You Go, it was instantly a book that I wanted to read. When I first sat down with it, my intention was to read the first few chapters to see how things are. In fact, I ended up not putting the book down for hours. Between the characters, the story, and Leegant’s way of writing I was simply glued to Wherever You Go.

It’s no secret that when I read a book I look for great characters. I must say that reading this book, I grew to care for each of the three main characters almost immediately. They were just so human with faults and worries and they were all looking for something. Yona, Mark, and Aaron could be any of the people we pass on the street any given day and that fact only made the book easier for me to read.

As for the story, and the lives of these three people who find what they need in a place they never really expected to end up… Well, that is just another one of the pieces of the story that makes the book unputdownable. Wherever You Go is realistic in a way I don’t always see in literature, and it was quite honestly, refreshing.

I also couldn’t end this without saying that the writing is absolutely beautiful. Even if the story or characters hadn’t grabbed me I would’ve kept on reading because Leegant’s writing was simply stunning. I highly recommend reading Wherever You Go, simply because it’s a great novel. I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for other works from Joan Leegant.

**I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a part of TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

[Cornmaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leegant packs a whole lot into this novel set mostly in Israel. She does a nice job of laying out the various philosophical factions that exist concerning its history and future. And the story is a typical many-characters-converge-on-a-pivotal-moment, but there's this piece of Judaic thought and wisdom overlaying the whole thing, that it requires the reader to think a lot.

The issue of how to ensure the survival of the Jews in modern times is front and center, but right there with it is how to ensure the survival of an individual when life has not provided what that person seeks. The relationship between Yona and her sister Dena, and the relationship between Greenglass and his father are the lynchpins for this theme.

Leegant also does a nice job, I think, of giving the reader a feel for Israel and its many geographical faces. I've never been there, so I am only guessing. But clearly she's got the well known 'no nonsense' approach of Israeli authorities down pat.

This book could provide much discussion on the topics of familial relations, Jewish history, terrorism, faith, and the distortion of idealism that occurs when rigidity begins to take control. Lots of irony in the fact that some 'defenders' of the Jews in this novel are in reality violating many inviolate tenets of their faith. But that's well established in the Bible and has always been the paradox.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. The book was easy to get into. It kept my attention. I'm not familiar with this part of the world, Israel. All three major characters were young United States citizens who went to Israel to resolve the issues they had in their lives. One, Aaron, becomes involved in a political extremist group. He never really belonged to a group or had friends in the United States. Now he has friends. Yona is trying to reconnect with her sister and correct a wrong she did to her sister. Her sister lives in one of the border settlements with her husband, another extremist group. Mark turns to religion and becomes an Orthodox Jew. Religion is the path he takes but later questions the decision. The lives of all three of these characters collide in the book.

I heard the author speak about the book. She said some readers in the United States had a problem with the ending regarding Aaron Blinder. Israeli readers found the resolution totally plausible. The author lives in the United States and Israel.